Hypopara’s unpredictability causes surprises during treatment

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide) injections. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy.

I have a group of friends who are convinced I’m clairvoyant. When I reply that it’s just my anxiety, they point out that this month alone, I’ve predicted when deer were close to the road several miles away, what time a long-lost relative would call down to the minute, and what day an important email would come through. I also knew, in my gut, something related to my hypoparathyroidism would go wrong on Thanksgiving Day.

There’s a running joke in my hypopara circle that the moment a practitioner closes for holiday hours, one of us will need them. It’s funny because it’s true, but it’s also stressful. I hate waking up on holidays and being too scared to open my eyes before I take stock of my body.

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Is there unexpected pain? Is the vertigo back? Is this throbbing just a regular headache or a warning of a tension migraine? Will a few ibuprofen knock it out, or will I be hugging the toilet, sobbing in pain in the next few hours? Will it go away overnight, or will I be miserable for days?

The reality of chronic illness is that it’s unpredictable, except for the knowledge that something will happen again soon and it will be inconvenient. Add in the chaos of holiday schedules, travel time, or hosting a group of people, and something mild becomes a lot more arduous. How can I prepare a meal or sit at a dinner table if I can’t get out of bed?

Navigating the unpredictable

I drafted the beginning of this column on Thanksgiving morning, before I took my dose of Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide). After I finished typing, I prepped my injection by screwing the safety needle onto my multidose injector pen and turning the dial to my dose. Then, I inserted the needle into my leg and pressed down on the dial. Halfway through, I met significant resistance. It took several more presses to finish the dose.

Removing the needle from the pen, I found the vial’s septum had bubbled. In my decade of using injectable medications, I’d never had this happen before, although I’ve heard about it occurring when the needle is bent. I’ve had multiple issues with the safety needles that come with Yorvipath, which have a built-in shield that retracts when the needle is pushed into the skin and then locks permanently around the needle as it’s removed. So I wasn’t surprised that I’d had yet another problem.

After leaving messages for my medical team, I started laughing: I knew something unpredictable would happen on Thanksgiving.

About three hours after my injection, I knew I hadn’t gotten my full dose. Both my primary care physician and my endocrinologist agreed that I could do nothing but monitor my calcium levels and wait until my next dose, since we didn’t know how much medication I had received. Thankfully, I knew what to expect after my user error dosing earlier this year. I regretfully canceled my Thanksgiving plans and crawled into bed to wait out the worst of the side effects.

On Friday, when I called the pharmacist at my Yorvipath pharmacy, PANTHERx, to report the issue, we agreed I’d switch back to my preferred pen needles instead of using the safety needles. She said it’s rare, but this situation is a risk with any pen injector. She recommended I have a conversation with my doctor about what I should do in the moment if this happens again.

I’m glad the situation wasn’t worse. I started a new pen on Friday morning and felt better the following day. Perhaps the most amusing thing to come out of this is that my group of friends redefined my supposed clairvoyance as “magical, but in a haunted way.” It made me laugh so hard, I might make that a new line in my author biography.

Hopefully, I won’t foretell — or actually experience — any more surprise holiday medical issues this year.

Note: Hypoparathyroidism News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Hypoparathyroidism News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to hypoparathyroidism.